Two Teen-Agers Charged In Shooting and Carjacking

By ABBY GOODNOUGH

Published: March 13, 1995

MONTCLAIR, N.J., March 12—
Two teen-agers with no previous criminal records were charged today in the Friday night carjacking and shooting of a West Caldwell woman who was attacked as she opened her garage.

As the woman, Sheila Gillespie, 65, was in a hospital, neighbors of the two suspects on their quiet Montclair street expressed disbelief that the youths were capable of such a crime. They described the two as good-natured and polite, portraits that conflicted sharply with investigators' accounts of a cold-blooded attack.

Ms. Gillespie was attacked as she returned home from visiting her daughter around 9:30 P.M. on Friday. The police said that one of the youths shot Ms. Gillespie in the face as she opened her garage, then fled with her 1990 Honda Accord as his companion followed in another vehicle.

Over the weekend, the police in West Caldwell and Montclair brought 12 charges against the teen-agers, including carjacking and attempted murder. The suspects were identified as Earl Bethel, 19, of 129 North Fullerton Avenue, and a 17-year-old boy who is being charged as a minor. The police have not revealed the identity of the minor, but Mr. Bethel's neighbors said he is Hassan Cousins, of 123 North Fullerton Avenue.

Detective James Veneziano of the West Caldwell Police Department would not say which teen-ager is suspected of shooting Ms. Gillespie, because the incident is still under investigation. He said both suspects would probably be arraigned on Monday in Superior Court in Newark.

Residents of North Fullerton Avenue said they had never known the suspects to be in trouble before. Across the street from the beige, three-story house Mr. Bethel shares with his parents, Gerald Vega described him as a shy youth who loved to play basketball.

"He was very nice and very athletic," said Mr. Vega, who said that he and Mr. Bethel both graduated from Montclair High School last spring. "He liked to sit out there on his porch and wave as cars drove by. He was just a shy kid."

Mr. Vega said that he and Mr. Bethel were close friends throughout grade school and high school, but they had recently drifted apart. Lately, he said, Mr. Bethel had become good friends with Mr. Cousins, and said the two of them would often play basketball at a nearby park.

Nobody answered the door at the white duplex where Mr. Cousins lives with his father, two doors down from Mr. Bethel's home. But the next-door neighbors, James and Jeanette Giles, said they have known Mr. Cousins since he was a toddler and have always considered him polite and friendly.

"He has always respected me," said Mrs. Giles, who has lived on the street since 1978. "There were so many times when he would help me carry groceries inside. He and his father are such nice people, so quiet. I am really grieving over this."

Officials at University Hospital in Newark said Ms. Gillespie's condition was stable and her prognosis was good. At her home in West Caldwell today, a woman who answered the door said she was "resting comfortably and in good spirits.".

The shooting has shaken the otherwise quiet suburban neighborhood of West Caldwell, as several residents expressed fear and anger about the carjacking.

"It's changed for me," said Kelly Erickson, a student at Montclair State College who lives around the corner from Ms. Gillespie. "People live in this community because they don't want to hear that stuff. I'm not that uncomfortable, but this is going to make everybody think twice."

Detective Veneziano of the West Caldwell police said the younger suspect was being held at the Essex County Youth House in Newark. He said Mr. Bethel was being held at the Montclair Jail, where bail was set at $1 million.

At Mr. Bethel's home, a man who answered the door identified himself as his father but would not give his first name. Before shutting the door he would only say, "There is a lot I could tell you about his family and his upbringing, but we're not inclined to do that right now."

Photo: Earl Bethel, 19, has been charged in a carjacking and shooting.